Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Inspiration: ‘Where Does it Come From?’

In Alan Bennett’s novella, The Uncommon Reader, he has a gem about the source of inspiration.

The Queen is entertaining a group of writers at a soirée and while they are loud, gossipy and funny with other writers, one on one with the Queen they are tongue-tied and on edge.

“One Scottish author was particularly alarming. Asked where his inspiration came from, he said fiercely: ‘It doesn’t come, Your Majesty. You have to go out and fetch it.’”

Source: Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007), 51-52.

A review of this novella is posted at Reviewing Books and Movies.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: “You have to go out and fetch it.” Getting out under the Humber Bay Arch Bridge. Photo, ‘Bridge and Icicles’ courtesy of 'A Daily Dose of Imagery' that provides one inspirational photo every day at this web site.